Star Trek and Nostalgia

I AM NOT SPOCK

Introduction

I don't go around introducing myself to strangers as Mr. Spock. But when someone addresses a letter to "Mr. Spock, Hollywood, California," I'm the one who gets it.

Most people play many roles in their lives. Roles like parent, child, breadwinner, homemaker, brother, sister, friend and lover. But most function under one collective role—individual identity.

Not so in my case. I am identified in at least two specific roles. Leonard Nimoy—actor, and Mr. Spock—Vulcan.

"I didn't recognize you without your pointed ears." I hear that all the time. It's a joke, well intended and good natured, and it's a part of my life.

The obvious intention is to communicate with me. "You are Leonard Nimoy, an actor who plays the role of a pointed-eared Vulcan named Mr. Spock on Star Trek."

Let's try a variation. "You are Mr. Spock of Star Trek. You are standing here now, looking like a human named Leonard Nimoy. Therefore, I had difficulty recognizing you."

One more variation. A parent holding a bewildered child by the hand says, "Johnny, this is Mr. Spock. Don't you recognize him?" The child stares and in his eyes I see no recognition. If he had the verbal skills he would probably say, "No. That's not Mr. Spock. Mr. Spock has pointed ears and arched eyebrows and greenish skin and wears his hair in bangs and he has a uniform with a blue shirt and black pants and boots and he's on TV. This man doesn't have any of those things and he's not on TV, he's standing here in front of me!"

Who is correct, the parent or the child?

Star Trek and Nostalgia

There was a time, some of us remember, when the difference between the good guys and the bad guys was quite clear. When we went to war we knew exactly who the enemy was and what he stood for and we believed firmly in the concept that we were right: God was on our side, and the enemy stood for all that was negative and evil and had to be vanquished. Freedom was an easy concept to relate to and the protection of it was all important. True, we sometimes found ourselves with strange bedfellows as allies, but united in common effort, we overlooked political and ideological differences in order to fight the more obvious common enemy.

In recent years there has been a major movement toward nostalgic aspects of the past; the romantic notion that it is possible to separate right from wrong. Star Trek falls neatly within the realm of this kind of thinking. Obviously the United Spaceship Enterprise is a good thing. Obviously the crew functions as a successful team of good guys intent on doing the "right thing." Obviously the Klingons are bad guys. They have no redeeming qualities and must be dealt with firmly and aggressively. And certainly the Enterprise and its crew do that. It's very easy to understand who to root for, certainly at least on the most obvious levels. True, within that construction there are questions of different philosophical positions among various members of the crew and between the crew of the Enterprise and certain groups of individuals that we encounter. But for the most part the guys on the Enterprise are the guys in the white hats and danger to them represents danger to the viewer. Success for them is success for the viewer.

The nonintervention concept of the Space Federation in retrospect seems like perhaps the most obvious lesson that might well have been studied by our contemporary leadership. The Enterprise is on a mission which specifically disallows intervention in the natural evolution of any given society. The concept is to offer aid and assistance without dictating policies or ideologies or lifestyles.

It's all so delightfully simple. It's easy to relate to, fun to watch and it presents no internal conflicts at the identity level. Would that our own society today were as uncomplicated.

Today, seven years after the completion of the last episode, the Star Trek series is a legend. I'm very proud of having been connected with the show. I feel that it dealt with morality and philosophical questions in a way that many of us would wish were part of the reality of our lives.

The show has certainly given me a sense of self-worth and particularly the relationship with the character of Mr. Spock has given me a constant guideline for a dignified approach to life as a human being. This book, therefore, is dedicated with deep gratitude to every one of the wonderful individuals who gave so much of their creativity and energy to make the series something special and, of course, to the millions of viewers who took the show into their hearts.

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 802